Prince William and Kate Middleton to weekend with the Browns?

Joanna Leyland, one of the writers over at The Royalist, reports that Richard Kay's latest column suggests that Prince William and Kate Middleton may traipse up to Balmoral this weekend for Prime Minister Gordon Brown's visit with the Queen.

The column, which as of this posting has not been added to the Mail Online website, appears in the print edition of the Daily Mail.

Leyland explains, "It’s reported by the Daily Mail's diarist Richard Kay that below-stairs gossip at Balmoral Castle suggests the young couple may join this weekend’s house party at which Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife, Sarah, will be guests of honour."

However, Leyland suggests that perhaps if William and Kate do head to the highlands for the weekend, they may have planned a getaway to the stone cottage that William owns on the Balmoral grounds.

"It’s probably true to say the prince and his girlfriend would be wiser to do as they have on previous occasions: enjoy some quiet time tucked away together at a 120-year-old cottage on the Balmoral estate which Her Majesty gave over to William as a bolt hole away from the spotlight and long lenses of the paparazzi," Leyland adds.